John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. When he was 3 they went to England on a trip but unfortunately his father passes away before being able to join them. They ended up staying in England with very little resources. Tolkien grew up loving and excelling at literature and language such as latin and greek.  

When world war I came around Tolkien asked to delay his enlistment until he finished his degree. In July of 1915 he was temporarily commanded as second lieutenant. 

 

It wasn’t until 1920 that he left the army and his first job was with the Oxford English Dictionary. Later in life he joined a group called the Inklings, they wrote fantasy novels, other to be famous authors such as C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams were also in this group. Tolkien had written the Elvish language, and from this creation and his deep christian faith came the Lord of the Rings saga.

 

Tolkien was a very religious man. He is one of the reasons C.S. Lewis converted to Christianity. People believe that Lord of the Rings would have been completely different if he was not Christian. While he does not make direct references to Christianity is it evident that it is woven through out the book. “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism” (The Lord of the Rings. Wikipedia)